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A higher demand in the microelectronics and industrial manufacturing markets, and an increase in scientific research drove increases in sales reported in Newport's second quarter financial report. According to the figures, sales and orders rose by 14.2 and 0.9 per cent, respectively, from the same period in 2013, and increased by 4.3 and 1.2 per cent from the first quarter of 2014. The company expects that sales will increase further in the third quarter.

The microelectronics end market stood out as a driver for the year-to-year increase in sales, although sales in all end markets increased by some degree. According to the company, its involvement in scientific research and industrial manufacturing were major reasons for the increase in year-over-year orders. The company also experienced a drop in orders from customers in the life and health sciences end market.

The microelectronics end market was also a major contributor for the sequential increase in sales and orders, along with the defence and security, and scientific research and industrial manufacturing end markets.

The company also reported a rise in new orders. ‘Our new orders increased both sequentially and year-over-year,’ said Robert Phillippy, Newport’s CEO. New orders accounted for $149 million, and net sales $153 million.

The net income attributable to Newport was a reported $9 million, or $0.22 per diluted share when measured according to generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). On a non-GAAP basis, the company's net income for the second quarter of 2014 was $13.6 million, or $0.34 per diluted share. ‘We were able to leverage this sales growth into a 70 per cent year-over-year increase in non-GAAP earnings per diluted share,’ commented Phillippy.

For the rest of fiscal year 2014, Newport anticipates further increases in sales, said Phillippy: ‘We expect our third quarter sales to be in the range of $148 million to $153 million, reflecting an increase of 7 to 10 per cent compared with the third quarter of 2013. For the full year, we expect our book-to-bill ratio to be solidly above 1.0, and we anticipate that our total sales for the second half of 2014 will be higher than both the first half of 2014 and the second half of 2013.’